DUSSELDORF, GERMANY—On the second day of the pre-Drupa media presentations in Dusseldorf, inkjet was the word of the day, as EFI, Canon, Fujifilm, Domino and Epson revealed, to various extent, what they will unveil at Drupa in May. Here are the highlights of the presentations:

EFI
EFI reported that it had added $100 million to its revenues for each of the last two years and, paraphrasing Wayne Gretzky, reiterated its committment to "skating" to where the action in the printing industry is going to be. It also hinted at major announcement to come at Drupa but is saving official announcements until early April. Stay tuned.

Canon/Oce
Canon also boasted a record year in 2011 for digital print, reaffirming its goal to become the number one production print supplier. At Drupa, it will occupy the largest booth it's ever had, under the Canon umbrella, though Oce-branded products will be part of its presention. No specific word on what new equipment is coming, but expect a large focus on how customers, you, can enhance their businesses.

Fujifilm
Fujifilm heads to Drupa having installed nine J-Press 720 models, the latest in Canada. And while the J-Press will be featured in May, the company also announced it plans to extend its inkjet portfolio to packaging. A new B2 inkjet folding carton press will be presented as a technology demo. Expected to come to market in 2013, preliminary information is that it will be based on the J-Press platform, will print in 4 colours at 1,200 dpi, and will deliver a digital solution with offset quality.

In other news, Fujifilm will bring out a new DLE (diect laser engraving) flexo system consisting of a new platesetter, the Flenex DL-25, a new Flenex WV-1 plate for UV and water-based ink, and  enhanced XMF workflow system. This is the first of several flexo offerings the company plans to bring out. There's also a new Acuity LED 1600, and a slew of upgrades to its XMF workflow system.

Domino
Domino will unveil the next-generation four-colour N600i inkjet label press, combining the speed of flexo the flexibility of digital printing, says the company. The press will operate at speeds up to 75 metres per minute and will come enhanced with a number of smart features.

In other news, the single-colour inkjet K600i module will integrate variable printing with sheet and web presses or function as a standalone digital press to meet demand for high-speed variable data labelling.

Another single print head, the new L100i, also integrates into web presses, mail bases, envelope inserters and folders for simple variable print at high speeds.

Epson
Epson announced it's going to focus on signage, label, photo and textile markets, with the goals of doubling its product line-up in the next few years and quadrupling revenues from industrial printing.

At Drupa it will unveil a next-generation label press, code named the  SurePress "X." It will be a small-footprint machine incorporating a new line head technology based on thin film micro piezo printheads, and will be the first Epson product to use UV ink.

Other highlights will be the four-colour SureColor SC-S 30600 for the signage market, using the latest TFP micro piezo printhead and the new UltraChrome GS2 inks.

For the commercial photo phinishing world, there's the SureLab SL-D3000 for hiqh-quality photo prints and cards up to A3 size. Available in August, the 12"-wide SureLab prints at 1,400 x 1,400 dpi in six colours in glossy, lustre and matte paper.

Stay tuned for more detailed reports on Drupa offerings.